Kermadec megapode
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| Kermadec megapode | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Megapodiidae |
| Genus: | Megapodius |
| Species: | †M. 'Raoul Island' |
| Binomial name | |
| †Megapodius 'Raoul Island' | |
The Kermadec megapode, also known as the Raoul Island scrubfowl (Megapodius sp. nov. 'Raoul Island'), was a population of land fowl that inhabited Raoul Island of the Kermadec Islands in New Zealand. There is disagreement in whether the Kermadec megapode was a unique species or simply an isolated population of another species of megapode. It is said to have gone extinct in 1876 due to a volcanic eruption on the island.[1] The population may have gone extinct due to factors other than the eruption, such as the introduction of mammalian predators or overhunting by humans.
Like all megapodes, the species would have had large feet with sharp claws, as they were ground nesting terrestrials. Megapodes are also characterised by their short beaks, large wings, and small heads. The bird was described as an omnivore that primarily inhabited forests on the floor of the Raoul caldera, the island's crater. They laid eggs in "mounds of sand and decayed leaves" around 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height. According to a former resident of the island named Johnson, their habitat was covered in mud during the volcanic eruption, killing the species.[2]